| “We treat everyone the same here.”
It sounds fair. It sounds progressive. But let’s be honest — it’s usually just shorthand for:
| “We’ve standardised the system so well, we forgot real people come with different brains.”
And that’s not inclusion. That’s lazy leadership.
Neurodivergent employees don’t need the same support — they need the same right to belong.
What Happens When You Treat Everyone the Same?
On paper, equality looks good:
- Same rules.
- Same expectations.
- Same policies for all.
But here’s what it often looks like in practice:
- The employee with executive dysfunction keeps missing deadlines and spirals with shame, too scared to ask for help.
- The one who seems fine in meetings goes home exhausted, emotionally drained from masking all day.
- The creative thinker stops sharing ideas because they don’t “fit the mould”.
- The high performer starts shrinking themselves to survive, not thrive.
This isn’t just unfortunate. It’s how businesses quietly lose their most innovative minds, the very people their DEI reports claim to celebrate.
Equality Isn’t Inclusion — It’s Compliance
When your systems only work for people who never have to ask for support, they’re not inclusive.
They’re compliant. At best.
True inclusion isn’t about rolling out a generic wellbeing initiative or tweaking a policy. It’s the uncomfortable, often messy work of reshaping your structures so that people don’t have to shape-shift just to stay employed.
Because when your culture only supports the people who fit in easily, what message are you sending to everyone else?
You might not hear it in exit interviews — but it’s felt:
- Every time someone burns out quietly.
- Every time someone hides their struggles to appear “professional”.
- Every time someone chooses to leave rather than ask for what they need.
Belonging Is Not One-Size-Fits-All
Inclusion means recognising that people work differently — and that those differences are not problems to fix, but strengths to understand and support.
It means:
- Building systems that allow for flexibility without needing disclosure, shame, or endless paperwork.
- Ditching the outdated notion that “professionalism” looks one way.
- Asking what people need to do their best work, in their own way.
What Inclusive Leadership Actually Looks Like
- Listening without assumption or judgement.
- Creating low-barrier ways to access support.
- Embedding flexibility into default practices, not just individual accommodations.
- Training managers to spot silent burnout and respond proactively.
- Designing roles, policies, and cultures that allow diverse minds to thrive — not just survive.
Are You Saying “Belonging” But Delivering “Fit In”?
If your workplace boasts inclusion but only works for the people who don’t ask for anything, it’s time to re-evaluate.
Because that’s not inclusion.That’s assimilation.
And that’s exactly how you lose the very people you worked so hard to recruit.
How We Can Help
At Elevate Up Neurodiversity Consultancy, we help organisations move from box-ticking to bold, inclusive action.
If you’re ready to create a culture where diverse minds truly belong, we’d love to help.
